


The Running of Persephone

by brichpmn



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romance, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brichpmn/pseuds/brichpmn
Summary: She craved her freedom.He craved her.Another spin on another classic tale.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Kudos: 31
Collections: Greek Mythology





	The Running of Persephone

Little Persephone above  
Gifted with flowers and life  
Always wondering through the fields  
Always at first light  
She played in the grove with the nymphs and the trees  
She wasn’t aware of what he could see  
-  
King Hades below  
Bewitched by her beauty  
He had to have her for his own  
He had found his queen  
He devised a plan for her to see  
By abduction or free will she was his ruler to be  
-  
Thought to be ensnared by his trap he took her away  
But King Hades had fallen for hers instead  
-  
Little Persephone above  
Always watched, always controlled  
Never alone  
She took this opportunity and seized it  
To the underworld she went with a smile on her face  
She was a queen of her own freewill  
She craved her freedom and so she took it  
-  
King Hades and Queen Persephone  
With six pomegranate seeds she sealed her fate  
Rulers of the Underworld  
By her choice and her choice alone

Kore  
I ran my fingers over the dead flowers and watched as they came back to life under my touch. A smile crossed my lips as I did the same to the rest of the flowers and trees in the small grove. I drop my smile as I hear the nymphs come up behind me.  
“Lady Kore you must slow down, you know your mother doesn’t want you wandering alone.” Filia, one of the flower nymphs calls out.  
I stopped my walking and let out a frustrated sigh. Why can’t mother let me do this on my own? I’ve finally turned 100 years old today and she still won’t let me out by myself. I am the freaking goddess of spring for crying out loud! I can handle the forest on my own. When will she see that I’m not a little girl anymore?  
When the nymphs had caught up with me, they made sure to keep an annoying eye on how far ahead I got. Calling me back each time I got too far as we finished growing the Earth for the first day of spring.  
“Hello my sweet Kore, how was the forest.” Demeter, my mother, kissed my forehead and went back to preparing dinner for us and the nymphs.  
“Everything turned out beautiful. I always get such a rush reviving and growing the flowers.” I let out a content sigh as I sat at the table, “I also checked on the crops for you on the way back. It looks like it’ll be ready to harvest soon.”  
“Thank you sweetie. I’m glad you had fun today. I had heard from the nymphs you kept straying just a little too far from them. Remember what I said about always staying with them? We don’t want anything to happen to you.” She placed a plate of pasta and vegetables in front of me, then took a seat for herself, “I don't know what I’d do if I lost you Kore.”  
“I'm a 100 years old mom! I've been walking in this forest for at least 95 of that. We’ve never seen anything dangerous out there before. I always do everything you ask of me. Everything. I think I have deserved some freedom. I should at least be able to walk the forest by myself during the day time, or go swimming in the lake on my own.” I begged with her.  
“I said no Kore. Don’t ask me again. I am your mother and you’ll do as I say.” She slammed down her utensils and whipped her head to look at me.  
“Y-yes, mother.” I shrank back, never seeing her so angry before. I lowered my head and finished my food. After clearing up dinner I went to my room for the night.  
I sat by my window, playing with the leaves of my lower I kept on the windowsill. I wish mom would trust me more. It’s not fair that she keeps me hidden. I just want to be able to experience life for myself. As I was thinking about everything, I noticed my flower start to wilt and die as I touched it. I fell back shocked and looked from my hand to my flower, slowly bringing it back up to touch the dead plant. When I touched a petal it sprang back to life. What the hell is happening.  
After a few hours I listened for the sounds of any footsteps or voices and when I heard none I snuck out of my room and out the door and into the forest. I made my way through the grounds and onto the hidden path I found while out with the nymphs one day. I had only been walking for a few hours when I felt it. Someone was watching me. It couldn’t have been the nymphs, they would have dragged me back home by now. Same for my mother.  
I stopped at a stream nearby and pretended to admire the nature that surrounded me while listening for footsteps behind me.When I heard a crack in the bushes a few meters back I whipped around and called out.  
“Hey! Who are you? Why are you following me?” I started making my way over to the bush when they made a run for it.  
“Hey, wait, come back!” I started running after them. I could only make out a large figure, probably a man. Definitely not from around here. I haven’t met many men in life but the ones I have met were polite and didn’t run away after I tried talking to them. Whoever this is, is fast. I can barely keep up. I tried using my powers to lift tree roots from the ground but he was able to dodge everything. While trying to think of another way to stop him he just vanished. I made it into the clearing where he vanished but saw nothing. For the second time that night I thought, what the hell is happening?  
A cry from the crop fields knocked me out of my trance at breakfast that morning. Me and the nymphs that were still around looked at each other before running outside. Nothing prepared us from what we found. All the crops were dead. My mom had tears in her eyes as she looked around us. You could see nymphs weaving in and out of the crops trying to find something, anything alive. As I got a closer look at the crops I felt like I couldn’t breath. They looked the same way when the flower withered beneath my touch just last night… I staggered back trying to catch my breath. Did I do that? I turned around to run back inside but my name was called.  
“Kore! Oh my Gods, I can’t believe this happened! How could this have happened? Didn’t you say you checked on the fields before you came in yesterday? I thought you said they were fine!” Mom came up to me and grabbed my shoulders while rambling in a panicked state and I can’t blame her. Everything was ruined.  
“I- I don’t know what happened… everything was… was alive when I saw them last.” But in my head I wasn’t so sure. I passed them when I snuck out. I didn’t pay much attention to them but I would’ve noticed if something was off. Right? It got harder to breathe so I shook mom off me and ran for the forest.  
I heard my name being called out by my mom and nymphs but all I could focus on was the memory of the flower dying and, even if I didn’t know it, the crops doing just the same only a few yards away. As I ran I heard running not far behind me. In an attempt to slow them down I made the brush grow wider and the branches grow lower so they couldn’t reach me. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and I didn’t stop till I reached a small lake hidden deep in the forest.  
I fell to my knees by the bank of the lake, trying to catch my breath. There’s no way I could’ve done that to all those crops. I’m supposed to be the goddess of spring and regrowth. Not… not whatever this is. My powers shouldn’t be capable of this, yet I witnessed it with my own eyes last night. I didn’t know what was happening or why. I thought I was done developing my powers, I didn’t want the power to destroy. To kill. I had been taught that life is precious and a gift. It was our job to help maintain it, to give life. Not take it away. I threw my hands at the ground and screamed in frustration as water splashed up around me. I screamed for my mom. I screamed for the nymphs. I screamed for the isolation that I’ve been kept in. I screamed for my freedom. I screamed for the life I had taken away. I just wanted this nightmare to end.  
I heard rustling behind me. I stood up slowly and turned around and watched as a man came out from the trees.

Hades  
I didn’t plan on finding her again. Ok. Total lie. But that’s besides the point. I was drawn to her from the moment I set eyes on her and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I didn’t actually think I’d find her though. I was wandering around, trying to remember the path we had been on when I heard running and shouts. I followed the noise and that’s when I saw her. She was amazing, for lack of better words. I saw her bend the forest around her to her will, stopping whoever was following her in their tracks. I was still able to follow closely behind and I saw her stop at the lake. Curious, I watched her.  
“Are you ok?” Damn, this girl has got a set of lungs on her. I stepped out from the trees that were hiding me.  
“Who are you? Why were you following me last night? That was you, right?” There was an edge to her tone, threatening. That made me chuckle.  
“You don’t know who I am? Really” My smile grew as she fixed me with a hard glare. Hands tensed at her sides.  
“If I knew who you were I wouldn’t be asking. I know you’re not from around here. I’ve never seen you on our property before.”  
“Your property huh?”, if looks could kill and I wasn’t an immortal being with immeasurable powers I’d probably be six feet under by now, “OK, OK. I’m Hades, God the dead, King of the underworld. Ringing any bells? Now it’s your turn. What’s your name little goddess.” I saw her eyes widen just a fraction. Got her.  
“I’m Kore. The goddess of spring and daughter of Demeter.” Now it was my turn to be surprised. I knew Demeter had a child but she kept her hidden from the rest of Olympus. If i’m not mistaken I thought I detected a little animosity when she mentioned her mother.  
“Well Kore. Goddess of Spring. What has you so troubled that you're out here in the middle of the forest all on your own letting your obvious frustrations out.”  
“I’m more than capable of handling myself King Hades,” That smirk gracing her lips told me just because I’m king it didn’t mean shit to her. Then it went away as she continued “There’s something wrong with my powers.” She looked at her hands as if she was scared of them. I felt my heart pull for her, wanting to comfort her. She sat back down on the ground and ran her fingers through the water.  
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want but I can also tell that isn’t the only thing bothering you. I’ve been told I’m a very good listener.” I shrugged as I sat down next to her and she looked at me with eyes that held sadness and fear that I had never seen before. I wanted to reach out and wipe the tears that threatened to spill but in fear as coming across as weird I kept my hands at my sides. She looks away and down towards the water. Surprisingly she keeps going.  
“It’s just, I’ve been fighting with my mom a lot recently. She never lets me have my freedom. Everywhere I go I have to have a chaperone. Everywhere. I can’t even work in the fields by myself. She just keeps me so sheltered. I’ve never even been off the property before, she won’t even let me go to town with her. I’m surrounded by all these nymphs and my mom, and don’t get me wrong I love them with my whole heart, but I feel so alone, like I don’t belong here. So at night I sneak out and go off on my own, just so I can feel the tiniest bit of freedom. Then my powers… I’m the goddess of fucking spring for crying outloud. I’m supposed to create life, not destroy it. I don’t know how but I destroyed our whole crop field. Everythings dead. And it’s my fault but didn’t know what to tell my mom so I ran. I ran and then I ended up here. Gods, I feel like such a freak, everyone is going to hate me when they find out what I’ve done.” My heart ached for her and this time I didn’t stop myself from wiping the tear away that escaped her.  
“I know what it’s like to feel alone. I was chosen to rule the underworld for all of eternity while my brothers are up in Olympus surrounded by the rest of the gods and goddesses. Though I’m content with not having to deal with the politics and drama they all get up to up there. But sometimes I look across my kingdom and wish I had someone to share it with…” Kore snapped her eyes to meet mine and I choke feeling my cheeks start to heat up, realizing how my words sounded. “I meant just that- that uh I know how it feels to be alone. You know?” She smiles at me in understanding and I think my heart stopped. I never want to see her without a smile on her face again. 

Kore  
Have you ever felt such an intense attraction to someone when you barely even know them? Because that’s me right now. Hades is by the far the most interesting person I’ve ever met. Granted I don’t know many people but I can only assume no one is like Hades. We stay by the lake talking for hours about everything and nothing. Sometimes we sit in comfortable silence. Other times he’s making me laugh so hard I can barely breath. This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had since… well, since forever. We don’t stop talking till the sun sets and the stars come out.  
“I should probably go home… I know my mom is probably killing herself worrying about me.” I stand and wrap my arms around myself awkwardly. I don’t want to leave here. I don’t want to leave him.  
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ve got some work to catch up on anyways…” He looked as if he didn’t want to leave either. Time to grow up Kore.  
“Would you maybe want to meet up here again? This Friday night after everyone's gone to sleep?” I blew out a breath and smiled hopefully.  
“Friday night. I’ll see you then.” He looked relieved I had asked and then with a smile he was gone.  
I walked back home knowing nothing, not even my mother, could ruin the mood I was in. Even as she was yelling at me about running off and promising punishment and more chaperones my mood didn’t change. I was going to see him again.  
The next Friday we met it was like no time had passed. Just like last time I stayed out till I absolutely had to go home with the promise of meeting again the Friday after. It went on for 6 months. Every Friday we’d meet at the lake. Everyone at home had noticed my change in moods lately and every time I was asked about it I shrugged them off and gave them a smile. If mom ever found out about Hades she’d never allow him near me again.  
Over the months something had changed between Hades and I. We felt closer. Like there was a magnetic pull between us and the more time we spent together the stronger the pull. I don’t know if Hades felt the same but sometimes I’d catch him staring at me like I’m the only thing he wants in his immortal life and I don’t know if it scares me or excites me. It only took one night to change everything. There was one night by the lake where we were just laying and staring at the stars. I turned to Hades to tell him something to find him already staring at me. I forgot what I wanted to say to him. All I knew was that he started leaning in and so did I. For a second I thought we were going to kiss. A sound of branches moving knocked us out of whatever trance we were in. Out from the trees stepped my mom.  
“Kore get away from him. Right now.” My mom’s eyes were blazing and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this angry before. Scratch that, I know she’s never been this angry before.  
When me nor Hades made a move she started walking towards us. We both scrambled to our feet and I grabbed onto Hades arm. She’s going to take me away and I’m never going to see him again and I don’t want to leave him. Nothing will ever be the same if he leaves me. Nothing. When she reached us she made a grab for me and I tried to move behind Hades but I wasn’t fast enough. She grabbed my arm and yanked me back towards her. No. No. NO. This can’t be happening. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I look too Hades and he looks frozen with fear and I know then he doesn’t know how to handle this any better than I do. The grip my mom has on my arm grows tighter as I fight to get out of her grip.  
‘Ow! Mom, please let me go! Please!” I look to Hades again and see him stalk towards us, his face hot with anger as he notices the pain I’m in and his eyes zero in on the ever tightening grip on my arm.  
“Let her go Demeter!” Hades was screaming at my mom and that really set her off.  
All of a sudden that’s all I could hear. My mom yelling at Hades and Hades yelling at my mom. Fighting over me. Fighting for me. I still struggled in my mother's hold and I felt Hades grab the hand that my mom didn’t have. I could feel and hear the nature around us. There was so much screaming I just wanted it to stop. It got harder to breath. The wind was howling all around us, the shouts of my mother, Hades and I getting louder and louder as she tried to drag me away and then it just stopped.  
I looked around. The trees and ground around us were dead. A groan sounded behind me and I turned to see my mom pulling herself up from the ground, when she laid her eyes on me I swear I saw fear in her eyes. Ignoring her, I looked around for Hades and saw him a few feet from the lake, laying on his side. Not moving. I rushed over to him and tried shaking him.  
“Hades? Hades, are you ok? Can you hear me? Oh my gods, please wake up Hades. Please wake up!” Tears fell from my eyes and I frantically wiped them away. Why isn’t he waking up? I shook him even harder, trying anything to get him to wake. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding when he let out a low groan and fluttered his eyes.

Hades  
“Kore? I groaned as I rolled over and leaned up on my elbows. “What happened?”  
“I don’t know, I don’t… oh my gods, are you ok?” She helped pull me to my feet and I wrapped an arm around her to keep me steady.  
“I’m OK. I promise. Are you?” I cupped her chin in my hand and forced her to look at me. She’d been crying.  
“I’m OK.” Her lip trembled and all I wanted to do was take away her pain.  
“Kore stop being stupid and leave him!” Demeter brushed the dirt off her and stood but made no move to come near us. I looked down at Kore and saw her whole body tremble. With fear or anger I do not know. I needed to get us, her, out of here. I looked down.  
“Do you trust me?” I held Kore’s gaze. She held mine.  
“With my life.” There was an intensity in her eyes that wasn’t there before and I knew she wasn’t lying.  
“Close your eyes and hold on tight.” Doing as she was told she wrapped both arms around me. I called upon the underworld and in the next instant we were standing in my throne room.  
“Open them, Kore.”  
“Oh my gods, where are we?” She let go of me and took in her surroundings.  
“My home… and yours. If you’d like it to be. There’s more than enough space and probably about a million unoccupied rooms and there’s a garden outside that I know you’d just adore and…” I looked at her hopefully. I held my breath as I waited for her answer. Gods I hope she said yes.  
“A garden, huh?” She let out the tiniest laugh and then looked at me. My heart stopped. If my only job for the rest of my life was to make her smile then I’d be a happy god. Her smile was bright enough to light the underworld for all of eternity, and she was smiling at me. She walked towards me and reached to cup her hands around my face. 

Kore  
I hovered my lips over his and when they finally connected with his I knew I’d never want to leave his side again. This was the kiss to end all kisses. If I felt any freedom before it was nothing compared to how freeing this kiss made me feel. I know now as long as I have Hades by my side I’ll feel this way for the rest of my immortal life.  
We laid in his bed a little while later after he showed me around his world. We hadn’t eaten in who knows how long so Hades had fruit brought up for us.  
“You know Kore, your mom doesn’t have the power to come down here but you know you’ll have to see her eventually right?”  
“Yeah I know,” I sighed, “but for now I’m staying right here.” I took a pomegranate seed and popped it in my mouth and smiled.  
“Hey Hades.”  
“Yes Kore?”  
“Call me Persephone.”


End file.
